JPH08207782A - Steering wheel structure for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To positively absorb impact in the case of an occupant secondarily colliding with the spoke or the like of a steering wheel and suppress vibration during driving. CONSTITUTION: An impact absorbing member 15 of approximately U-shape cross section is mounted in such a way as to be along the longitudinal direction of the core material 5 of a steering spoke and to cover the upper side of the core material 5. Impact in the case of an occupant secondarily colliding with the spoke 14 or the like can thereby be absorbed positively. Since there is no need to reduce the rigidity of the core material 5 or the like of the spoke 14, there is no influence on vibration. Even in the case of reducing the rigidity of the core material 5, the impact absorbing member 15 asists rigidity, so that vibration during driving can be suppressed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile steering wheel structure having improved steering spokes (hereinafter referred to as "spokes").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional automobile steering wheel will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 is a steering wheel of an automobile. The steering wheel 1 is roughly composed of a rim 2, spokes 3, and a boss portion 4.

As shown in FIG. 9, a core material 5 made of iron or a light alloy is put in the central portion of each of the rim 2 and the spokes 3 as a reinforcing member. The outer periphery of the core material 5 is covered with a pad member such as a synthetic resin member or a synthetic rubber member that protects the head and chest of an occupant from a secondary collision when a vehicle collides.

Further, since the boss portion 4 at the central portion of the steering wheel 1 has a high rigidity, the energy absorbing material 6 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is usually provided here. The energy absorbing material 6 is composed of a deformable leg portion 8 standing on a boss plate 7 (see FIG. 11) and a top plate 9.

A horn pad 10 made of synthetic resin or the like, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, is attached to the upper surface of the top plate 9. The horn pad 10 is held by inserting an engaging hook 11 on the back surface of the horn pad 10 into an engaging hole (not shown) of the top plate 9. And at the time of a vehicle collision,
When the occupant makes a secondary collision with the horn pad 10, the leg portion 8 of the energy absorbing material 6 is greatly bent together with the horn pad 10 so that the impact is reliably absorbed.

Further, a tubular portion (not shown) is integrally formed at the center of the back surface of the horn pad 10, and this tubular portion is fitted into a hole 12 (see FIG. 10) formed in the top plate 9. , When the horn pad 10 is pushed from the top, the switch is turned on and an audible alarm is emitted.

As a core material for a steering wheel, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-6381. What is disclosed in this publication is one in which a metal tube is arranged in the middle of the spoke of the steering wheel, and the ends of the spoke are fitted into both ends of this metal tube.

[0008]

In the prior art described above, in order to improve the shock absorbing effect when the vehicle collides and the occupant makes a secondary collision between the spoke and the spoke and the horn pad. However, it is preferable to reduce the rigidity of the spokes and the boss plate. However, if the rigidity is decreased, there is a problem that vibration during operation usually increases.

Further, in the steering wheel core material disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 64-6381, since the rigidity of the metal tube is high, the rigidity of the spokes is also high and the vibration can be reduced, but the passenger's There is a problem that it becomes difficult to absorb the impact at the time of the secondary collision.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. When the occupant makes a secondary collision between the spokes or the spokes and the horn pad, the shocks are reliably absorbed, and An object of the present invention is to provide a steering wheel structure for an automobile that suppresses vibration.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
It is characterized in that a shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section is attached to the core material of the spoke so as to cover the upper side thereof along the longitudinal direction of the spoke material.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a slit is formed in the shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section is mounted on the core material of the steering spoke along the longitudinal direction of the core material and covering the upper side of the core material. The absorbing member causes the spokes and the like to absorb the impact of the occupant in the secondary collision. In addition, the shock absorbing member attached to the core material of the spoke maintains the rigidity of the core material and suppresses vibration during operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the shock absorbing member is provided with a slit, and the shock is absorbed by deforming or breaking the slit at the time of collision. By providing such a slit so that the shock absorption performance can be selected,
Make the shock absorber more compatible with any stiffness or thickness of spoke core.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 by assigning the same reference numerals to the same members as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 show a part of the steering wheel 13, in which reference numeral 13 is a steering wheel.

The steering wheel 13 is generally composed of a rim 2, spokes 14, and a boss portion 4. A core material 5 made of iron or a light alloy is put in the central portions of the rim 2 and the spokes 14. Further, the core material 5 on the spoke 14 side is configured to cover the core material 5 along the longitudinal direction of the core material 5,
A shock absorbing member 15 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shock absorbing member 15 is made by forming a steel plate into a U-shaped cross section. As shown in FIG. 4, a U-shaped curved surface is formed on the upper surface of the core member 5. It is welded and fixed so that it is on the upper side, that is, the concave side is on the lower side. Since the shock absorbing member 15 has no closed space, the flow of resin is not impaired during resin molding.

The outer peripheral portions of the core material 5 of the spokes 14 and the shock absorbing member 15 and the core material 5 of the rim 2 thus configured protect the head and chest of the occupant from a secondary collision when the vehicle collides. Therefore, it is covered with a pad material made of synthetic resin (urethane or polypropylene) or synthetic rubber.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a boss plate 7 is erected at a substantially central portion of the steering wheel 1.
An energy absorbing material 6 including a deformable leg portion 8 and a top plate 9 attached to the upper portion thereof is provided. A horn pad 10 made of synthetic resin is attached on the top plate 9 of the energy absorbing material 6.

The horn pad 10 is held by inserting an engaging hook 11 projecting from the back surface of the horn pad 10 into an engaging hole (not shown) provided in the top plate 9.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the occupant makes a secondary collision with the horn pad 10 of the boss 4 during a vehicle collision, the leg portion 8 of the energy absorbing material 6 is greatly bent together with the horn pad 10 to reliably absorb the impact and protect the occupant. You can

Further, when the occupant makes a secondary collision with the spoke 14, the upper portion of the spoke 14 receives a strong impact force F (see FIG. 4), so that the impact absorbing member 15 attached to the core member 5 is shown in FIG. As shown, it deforms to reliably absorb the shock and protect the occupant. Even when the occupant makes a secondary collision between the spoke 14 and the horn pad 10, the shock absorbing member 15
The impact is reliably absorbed by the energy absorbing material 6 and the energy absorbing material 6.

By attaching the shock absorbing member 15 to the spokes 14, the shock absorbing performance can be improved even if the rigidity of the core material 5 of the spokes 14 is maintained as it is or if the rigidity of the core material 5 is increased. Not only does it not decrease, but since the shock absorbing member 15 assists the rigidity of the core material 5, it is possible to make the core material 5 thinner accordingly.

Next, another example of the shock absorbing member 16 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a slit 17 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the shock absorbing member 15 is formed on the curved surface side of the shock absorbing member 16 having a U-shaped cross section. The slit 17 may be formed along the longitudinal direction of the shock absorbing member 16.

By inserting the slits 17 in this way, when the spokes 14 receive an impact, the slits 17 are deformed or broken and the impact is absorbed. Therefore, by providing the slit 17, the shock absorbing performance of the shock absorbing member 16 can be variously changed.
As a result, it becomes possible to equip the steering wheel 13 of various types in which the rigidity and thickness of the core material 5 of the spoke 14 are different, with the shock absorbing member 16 being more suitable.

Further, another example of the shock absorbing member 18 will be described with reference to FIG. This shock absorbing member 18 is
The shape is not U-shaped in cross section, but is formed in a substantially U shape in side view. The attachment is fixed by welding the flanges 18a, 18b provided at both ends on the U-shaped opening side to the core material 5 of the spokes 14. This shock absorbing member
Also in the case of 18, the vehicle can be easily deformed at the time of the secondary collision of the occupant to reliably absorb the shock. Also, this shock absorbing member
The slits along the spokes 14 and the slits orthogonal to the spokes 14 can be formed on the 18 as well. The shock absorbing member 18 may be formed into a substantially hat shape in side view.

[0027]

According to the invention described in claim 1, a shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section is attached to the core material of the steering spoke along the longitudinal direction of the core material and covering the upper side of the core material. Therefore, the impact absorbing member can reliably absorb the impact of the secondary collision of the occupant on the spoke and the impact of the secondary collision between the spoke and the horn pad.

Since the shock absorbing member is attached to the spoke core material as described above, the shock absorbing member maintains the rigidity of the spoke core material even if the rigidity of the spoke core material or the like is reduced. The vibration of can be suppressed. further,
Since the shock absorbing member is attached to the core member inside the spoke portion, it is not seen from the outside and the appearance is not impaired.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the impact absorbing member is provided with the slit, the impact can be reliably absorbed by deforming or breaking the slit at the time of collision. As a result, it becomes possible to change the shock absorbing performance, and it is possible to reliably respond to any rigidity and thickness of the core material that changes depending on the type of automobile. Therefore, the shock absorbing member can be mounted on any type of steering wheel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing a part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of that of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shock absorbing member of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the shock absorbing member shown in FIG. 4 is deformed to absorb a shock.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the shock absorbing member.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where another shock absorbing member is attached to the spoke core material.

FIG. 8 is a top view for explaining a steering wheel.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing the right half of that of FIG.

10 is a top view showing the horn pad of the steering wheel of FIG. 8 removed.

11 is a top view showing a state where the energy absorbing material of FIG. 10 is removed.

[Explanation of symbols] 5 core material 13 steering wheel 14 spoke 15 shock absorbing member 16 shock absorbing member 17 slit 18 shock absorbing member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel structure for an automobile, characterized in that a shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section is mounted on a core material of a steering spoke along a longitudinal direction of the core material so as to cover an upper side of the core material. 2. The steering wheel structure for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein a slit is formed in the shock absorbing member having a substantially U-shaped cross section.